If Bush declared war on Iran, he would use AIR power, not ground troops

Edited on Mon Jul-19-04 02:42 PM by Caution

He would use Iraq bases as staging ground for air strikes...he could pound Iran into submission using the permanent bases located in Iraq easily, particularly with the large contingent of soldiers available to cycle the aircraft for sortie after sortie.

People get fixated on the ground forces but the fact is that invasion doesnt have to happen for another year if they decide to go with an air campaign. Declare war on Iran, use it to mobilize the voters, then re-instate the draft after the election and start cycling in ground forces to Iraq for an invasion of Iran shortly thereafter.

This is uber: but people who keep sasying "with what troops" seem to miss the point of why the administration might be floating this right now.

any invasion force into Iran. Iran uses the same outdated equipment that Hussein had. In short order there would no longer be an Iranian military, and don't forget the 135,000 soldiers full equipped and armed already in Iraq. The reason the ground situation is difficult in Iraq is because our troops are meant to be mobile. If Iran attemped an invasion they would be obliterated. The US does fine in a non-guerrila war. Inside of 6 weeks, Bush could pacify Iran, and win the election if the timing were right. It all comes down to how the public receives this latest crap about an Iran-9/11 connection. All Bush has to do is be successful up to the election. Once he won that his options are wide open.

Rumor has it that the Russians have been selling state of the art, up to date Anti-Air Artillery to the Iranians, as well as modernized radar systems.

Add to that mix the fact that the Iranians are well armed with SSM's, and I'll bet they already have Baghdad targeted, as well as other US locations in that theater.

Iran won't invade but they can destroy a good portion of the US military located in Iraq and neighboring Gulf nations, or do you really think that the Iranians don't have agents in the countries that border them.

A large group of aircraft take off from Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, or from aircraft carriers in the Gulf region, you can bet the Iranians will know about it. And the next thing you know SSM's will be landing at US military bases all over the region. Don't count on the Turks lending a hand, as long as Iran is defending itself from a US/UK attack the Turks will remain neutral, just like they did in the invasion of Iraq.

Let's face facts we all know how paranoid Bush is and we all know that the Iraninans have been expecting the US to launch some kind of attack on them for decades, and I think while the US was paying all that attention to Iraq and Saddam, Iran was getting prepared.

Now they may not win in the end, but I'll bet they take a lot of US/UK military with them.

And that's the other thing, will the UK support an invasion of Iran, I don't think Blair is that stupid, but you never know.

Not to mention that the rest of the coalition will pull out of Iraq, because they didn't sign up for empire building.

Just other things to think about for all those who think that Iran will be another "cakewalk with flowers".

Seven years ago...psychiatrist Charles Ham retired from the Army...Then, the other day, he got a call telling him to report...for a physical examination.

Ham, who wore a U.S. Army uniform for 41 years, knew 5,600 veterans who recently had left the service were being called up. But he never thought he would be on the list. "You know, I'm 67 years old. Why do you need me?" Ham asked.

The caller explained the Army needed psychiatrists to counsel troops. A recent study found the suicide rate of soldiers serving in Iraq is...17.3 per 100,000 soldiers, compared with 12.8 for the Army overall. To help remedy the problem, the study recommended the Army send more mental health specialists to combat zones...

I must have been unclear...I meant that this is the rationale and methodology that Bush could use to get us involved in another war prior to the election in order to galvanize public support behind him. The thinking amongst most people I have seen here on DU is that the military is stretched too thin, but that isn't true. The ARMY is stretched thin. We have plenty of naval and air power currently and that is precisely how the US military would approach Iran if the Bush ordered it.

I would think it more likely that he could unleash Israel and call it an International Effort to remove an authoritarian government, destroy WMD, and all the usual patriotic blather. That it would do nothing to stop "terrorism" and, in fact, add 67 million angry Iranians to the enemies list, is of course secondary to stirring up a mindless public to "support our (or, Israel's) troops".

"Oliver L. North, a Marine lieutenant colonel assigned to the National Security Council staff beginning in 1981 until he was fired on November 25, 1986, was the White House official most directly involved in secretly aiding the contras, selling arms to Iran, and diverting Iran arms sales proceeds to the contras. "

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